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Dear Friends,
It's been lovely to ease into the RAGBRAI 2025 season, and to welcome back old friends who haven't ridden RAGBRAI in some time. We're also seeing registrations from many of our faithful and frequent flyers, including Boston Bob above. And gosh, from our perspective, it seems that RAGBRAI's bucket-list currency is as high as ever. Lots of RAGBRAI virgins will be with us in July--and we can all benefit from seeing this incredible ride through the eyes of our first-timers. Welcome, Everyone!
ABOVE: Bob with his buddy (and ours),
Julie, the PBV Massage Team Leader
Believe it or not, we have already been invited to drive out to one of our 2025 overnight towns, and we're already working with our hosts on all the details of our stay there. This was a lucky opportunity, and we'll do the majority of our scouting in March and April.
In this update, our main goal is to let you know what to expect from us over the course of the season. We'll include a few other topics too.
In This Issue:
- The Coming Season, When to Expect Pork News!
- Your Status with PBV
- Availability of PBV Services and Shuttles
- RAGBRAI Registration Price Increases
- Some FAQs--Commonly Asked Questions
- Looking for a Beautiful Trail Ride?
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The Coming Season,
& When You Can Expect
Pork News!
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Please rest assured that we are gathering info, planning our schedule of updates to you, and we will dole out explanations and instructions as we are able. Here is when you can expect information and opportunities!
March
- Limited Availability of Hotel Rooms with PBV--this is just for a night or two, as a refresher, and we offer hotel stays on a very limited basis. You can write to Bella@pkbelly.com for early notice on any hotel stays.
- News from PBV on Scouting the Overnight Towns
April
- Your Detail Form--this form is not active yet. But from April to early July, you'll have plenty of time to login and complete Your Detail Form with your official RAGBRAI Registration number, info about your bike for shuttle transport, and more. The Detail Form allows you to take an extra night in your rental tent, also. We will not activate the Detail Form until April.
- Bike-Shipping--we partner with BikeFlights to provide bike-shipping with options for pre-assembly and packaging bikes for return shipping. In April, we'll publish your link to RAGBRAI bike-shipping to/from Iowa.
- Massage Appointments with PBV Therapists--Julie will have the appointment book ready in the next 6-8 weeks, and we'll invite you to request appointments with one of our 11 therapists.
May
- Guttenberg Long-Term Parking will become available in May, if not sooner. In a future update, we will link you to long-term parking reservations.
- Payment of balances to PBV will be due on May 15th.
June
- Your June Letter is a travel guidebook for Pork Belly Ventures on RAGBRAI, and it will give complete instructions on all shuttles, the week with PBV, and the last day of RAGBRAI.
- A special update for E/W Shuttle users, which will give you detailed instructions about parking, loading bikes, and boarding the coaches, and anything else of use about Guttenberg and your arrival in Orange City.
- Indoor Sleeping Opportunities--these arrangements can take a little longer, as we work with local partners on opportunities to sleep in A/C for a $25 donation. Usually we can offer this kind of opportunity 3-5 times during the week. Stand by, please, for your chance to sign up.
- Our Week in the Corn is everyone's favorite update. In it, we will give you the day-by-day preview of every fun thing we're planning for you! (We have already booked everyone's favorite band from last year. ????)
July
- Rosters for PBV Pre-RAGBRAI shuttles will be published, one after another, in the early days of July. This includes Omaha to the start, our E/W Shuttle (from end to start), and Des Moines to the start. We want you to be certain of the coach to which we have assigned you and the time you're scheduled to climb aboard. Watch for rosters in early July. (We do not publish rosters for shuttles that operate on the last day of RAGBRAI.)
- Eight PBV Maps! These will show the PBV campsite location in every town, along with festivities, nearby businesses, etc. Maps show rider routes to/from camp. Each town must approve our map, and that's why we usually can't publish them before July.
PBV will publish some 20 updates between now and RAGBRAI--and we obviously haven't mentioned every topic. These are the major ones, though.
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Receiving and Finding Our Updates
We recommend that anybody who's traveling with us check in with their group members to make sure that everyone is receiving our updates (making sure the updates don't get caught in spam filters). Should you accidentally delete an email update, you can find the archive in a list of updates one our app or our website.
The app is free--look for the Pork Belly Mobile App at your app store!
HERE is the archive of updates at our site.
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Your Status with Pork Belly Ventures
Folks, if you signed up for our services anytime after January 1, and if you paid the 10% deposit, then you're good! Welcome! You can login and review your services, click EDIT to see your details and/or add a shuttle or a service. You may also make a payment of 10% or payment of your full balance or pay in full.
If you've paid the initial 10% deposit, no additional payment is due until May 15th, when all outstanding balances must be paid.
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NOTE: Over 80 people have selected our Weeklong Support and not made any payment to secure it. Do remember that you do not have a reservation if services are not secured with a 10% deposit. Eventually, we will cancel unpaid applications. (We have already cancelled all tents--removed them from applications--that were not secured with a deposit.)
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Shuttles--Which Ones Fit with Your Travel Plans?
Pork Belly Ventures operates three shuttles before RAGBRAI, three shuttles after RAGBRAI, and three shuttles during RAGBRAI. Any RAGBRAI rider, whether or not he/she is spending the week with us, may use our shuttles. If your travel plans are progressing, feel free to consider our ground transportation here:
Update on All PBV Shuttles!
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If/when you add shuttles, make sure to login and add them to your existing application, if you have one already. Let's aviod creating duplicate applications--very confusing for everyone. If you can't remember your login credentials, please write to us!
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Pork Availability
- Rental Tent Service, SOLD OUT with a waiting list
- Weeklong Support, Available but Filling Steadily
- All Shuttles, Available
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RAGBRAI Registration Fee
Goes Up on March 1 and April 1
Be aware, friends, of these next increases scheduled for RAGBRAI Registration. The price for a weeklong rider goes from $250 to $275 on March 1, and then to $300 on April 1.
https://ragbrai.com/registration/
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Bicycle Illinois:
Transport from/to Chicagoland
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Are you traveling to RAGBRAI from Chicago, or do you need a lift back to Chicago after RAGBRAI? Talk to Rob or click the link below to learn the details. It's important to ask when Rob arrives in the start town and when he departs from the end town. Here is his description of his Chicago shuttles:
"The transportation service of Bicycle Illinois will transport you, your bike, and your baggage from downtown Chicago to the start of RAGBRAI and from the end of RAGBRAI back to downtown Chicago. One-way transportation is also available, as well as transportation for just you and your baggage if you will be shipping your bike instead.
"All of our locations in downtown Chicago are centrally located and extremely convenient. They are also easily accessible by all types of public transportation (airlines, trains, and buses) whether you live in the city or suburbs or across the country or world!"
Rob is accepting reservations now!
We appreciate partnering with Bicycle Illinois!
Learn more right here!
http://www.bicycleillinois.com/
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Finally, Some FAQs
Here are some questions we've been fielding with regularity. We hope it helps to provide answers here, or at least some idea of when the answers will be available!
Q: If I am on Pork Belly Ventures Weeklong Support, do I still need to register with RAGBRAI itself?
A: YES. No charter is allowed to include RAGBRAI's registration with their services. Every RAGBRAI rider needs to register with RAGBRAI, including those with PBV.
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Q: Are shuttles included with the Weeklong Support of PBV?
A: No, because all of our shuttles are different distances and prices. Except for the Weeklong Support, which we call "an umbrella service," including many conveniences and amenities, all of our services and shuttles are ala carte.
Q: Will PBV shuttle me back to the start town after RAGBRAI?
A: No, sorry, PBV has never returned to the start town after RAGBRAI. Rather, we use the Omaha airport on the west side of Iowa as our shuttle jumping-off point near the start town. This is convenient for those who fly and for those who drive in on I-80 or I-29. After RAGBRAI, we can return you to Omaha from the end town, or we can transport you to a Des Moines Airport hotel or to the Quad Cities International Airport. There's a link above--all about our shuttles!
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Q: Regarding shuttles prior to RAGBRAI, may I choose my Omaha or Des Moines departure time now?
A: Well, there's only one departure time for Des Moines. It's 9:15 AM on Saturday morning, July 19.
Omaha shuttle folks, when you complete your Detail Form (in April), you will provide us with your Omaha arrival info. We'll create a bus departure schedule around that info. We will publish that schedule and rosters for each departure. For now, please know that you can expect departures from Omaha about every hour on Saturday, July 19, a bit more frequent in the morning.
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Q: What are Pork Belly Ventures' designated hotels at the Omaha airport:
Candlewood Suites: 402-342-2500
Best Western Plus: 402-505-4900
These hotels are right next to each other in Abbott Plaza, about a mile and a half south of the Omaha airport. Our shuttle will operate in the north parking lot of the Candlewood Suites hotel.
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Q: What do I need to consider when flying into Omaha?
First, arrive on Friday. Planning to arrive on Friday gives you a little leeway to deal with cancelled flights, delayed flights, mis-routed bikes and baggage, all of which we see every single year.
Our last shuttle departure from Omaha is Saturday, 7/19, at 4:00 pm. Do not plan to arrive at the airport after 3:00 PM and catch our shuttle. You won't make it. The wise person will buffer his/her schedule against all-too-common airline issues that can wreck your first few days! (We've seen it.)
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Q: Where should I park in Guttenberg, and do you recommend hotels on the east side of Iowa?
A: Guttenberg volunteers are still putting together the long-term parking plan, but you will be able to purchase parking from them, and we'll let you know when and how!
Also, if you want hotel rooms on the east side of Iowa, look to Google. We have relationships with hotels on the west side of Iowa (near the Omaha airport), but Guttenberg is a long way from home for us. And it's very small. We've been telling folks who want a nearby hotel to try the Dubuque area south of Guttenberg.
We will be looking for an indoor sleeping venue in Guttenberg for Friday night, July 18, for those who will use our E/W Shuttle on Saturday morning. More to come after we've scouted.
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Q: What is included with the tent service of PBV?
A: Some of our new folks have asked whether we include an air mattress or sleeping pad along with our RAGBRAI tent service. We do not. We do provide all the labor of set-up, take-down, and moving your bags to and from the tent throughout the week. Your PBV rental tent includes a ground cloth and a rain fly. But you need to bring everything you plan to use inside your tent.
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Q: What if I have a CPAP machine?
A: If you have a battery for your CPAP machine, you'll have an advantage and can camp anywhere on site. If you do have a battery for your CPAP machine, then hang on for instructions in our June Letter on charging your battery in our campsites.
If you don't have a battery, you will be very limited on where you can camp, and our rental tent service is not for you. If you don't have a battery for your CPAP, you should bring a long drop cord. If you have more questions about this, please write to Becca@pkbelly.com or stay tuned for more in our June Letter.
BELOW: We don't recommend any particular battery. This image shows 8 results of many from
a quick Google search, "CPAP Batteries."
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Q: Can PBV riders charge e-bike batteries in camp?
Yes, but you must answer "yes" to this question on the application form, so that we know you are planning to use this service. We will explain more about it in our June Letter, to be published in June. The June Letter is a virtual travel guide book for anyone with Pork Belly Ventures.
Q: When will we know more about the route?
In the spring, RAGBRAI usually publishes the day-by-day route maps, so stay tuned!
(The image below is from RAGBRAI.com! More to come on the 2025 route!)
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Scouting is coming soon, and it always leads to great plans and more good news!
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We will be quite busy in March, friends. Along with our friend and fellow charter operator Bob Brancel (with Pete above), we'll be presenters at the Des Moines meeting for all the overnight towns, and then, right away that next week, we'll be out with RAGBRAI officials, talking to all eight towns. We'll almost surely go out to all of the towns again in April to dot the I's and cross the T's--reserving campsites, lining up our food vendors and caterers, and working together with local partners in each place!
Our plan is always to work together with our hosts for a BIG WIN-WIN every place we go!
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ABOVE and BELOW: Scenes from
The Black Hills Hundred, June 2024
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The Black Hills Hundred!
June 22-26, 2025
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In case you missed it, folks, we want to make you aware of one of the most scenic rides in the country, four cycling days on the spectacular Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We send our A-Team on this ride, to take excellent care of you. This ride is our own creation, and we combine the gorgeous days of cycling through Ponderosa Pine forests and across high-trestle bridges with our tidy and privately owned campgrounds, all of the amenities of Pork Belly Ventures, and afternoon excursions to the places South Dakota is famous for!
Click HERE to learn more about the Black Hills Hundred!
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We hope this update has been helpful to you, and by all means let us know if you have additional questions or concerns! We'll be on your screens again when we have more to share! Until then, we remain,
Your friends,
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Pork Belly Ventures LLC
Tammy: 808-375-8921 c, tammy@pkbelly.com
Pete: 402-681-2613 c, pete@pkbelly.com
www.pkbelly.com
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